MONTREAL, July 13 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, the Governments of Canada and
Quebec announced a major step towards Quebec's selection of a private partner
for the completion of Highway 30.
On June 20, a request for proposals was launched for the design,
construction, financing, operation, maintenance and repair of Highway 30 under
a public private partnership.
Yesterday, the Quebec government received the bid agreements of the
candidates invited to participate in the request for proposals. A bid
agreement is a contract that is negotiated and signed by the Quebec Minister
of Transport and each of the three qualified candidates. This document sets
out the requirements for the drafting and submission of proposals, including
security deposits. This agreement also sets out the framework for the
consultative process, including a general information session, specific
information sessions and discussion workshops with the qualified candidates
and their respective members and participants.
The instructions for qualified candidates, including the bid agreement,
are now available on the Web at: www.autoroute30.qc.ca.
The Request for Proposals
The request for proposals is the second step in the private partner
selection process, will lead to the signing of a partnership agreement.
The selection process is a joint initiative by Transport Quebec and
Partenariats public-privé Québec; however, Transport Quebec is the prime
contractor for the entire project.
The three qualified candidates invited to continue in the process are:
Infras-Québec A-30, Nouvelle Autoroute 30, and SNC-Lavalin. They are now asked
to submit proposals that meet the technical and financial requirements for the
completion of the western section of Highway 30.The highlights of the draft partnership agreement are:
- a draft 35-year agreement for the design, construction, financing,
operation, maintenance and repair of the infrastructure;
- risk and responsibility sharing, including where the private partner
would assume the risks of cost overruns and schedule delays;
- compensation for the private partner's construction, capital,
operation, maintenance and repair expenses, as well as money from
tolls; and
- additional sections that the private partner could finance, operate,
maintain and repair.In the next few weeks, Transport Quebec will release a document outlining
its technical and administrative requirements and its performance criteria for
completing and operating the infrastructure. Moreover, Transport Quebec will
ensure that the private partner fulfills all its service delivery requirements
for the duration of the agreement. In the event of non-compliance,
compensation for the private partner's capital, operation, maintenance and
repair expenses may be reduced.
The private partner will be responsible for complying with the conditions
set out in the environmental orders for the completion of Highway 30 and for
implementing the mitigation and compensation measures provided for in these
environmental orders and in the federal environmental assessment.
The three qualified candidates will have until March 26, 2008 to submit
their detailed technical proposals and until May 7, 2008 to submit their
financial proposals. The successful candidate should be announced on June 18,
2008.
The auditor for this process, Marc-André Patoine, will ensure that this
step of the selection process will be conducted in a fair and transparent
manner. At the end of the selection process, a report will be posted on the
Transport Quebec Web site at www.autoroute30.qc.ca, as well as on the
Partenariats public-privé Québec site at www.pppq.gouv.qc.ca.
Changes to Western Section Tolls
Tolls were initially planned for the entire western section, but now will
be collected only on the bridge spanning the St. Lawrence River, between
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion.
This measure will help optimize traffic flow and ensure that Montérégie
residents using local roads and drivers using the highway between Châteauguay
and Salaberry-de-Valleyfield will not pay any tolls.
For further information: Natalie Sarafian, Press Secretary, Office of
the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa, (613)
991-0700; Marjolaine Gagné, Highway 30 Project Bureau, Transport Quebec, (514)
873-0234, ext. 219; Danny Kingsberry, Communications, Transport Canada, (613
993-0055; Vincent Casanova, Agence des partenariats public-privé du Québec,
(514) 873-2356; Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news
releases and speeches at www.tc.gc.ca/listserv/and keep up-to-date on the
latest from Transport Canada. Transport Quebec is on line at www.mto.qc.ca.
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